EQUALITY OF MEN AND WOMEN IN EDUCATION

Historically, women have not had access to education, and this is one of the basic causes of the current inequality between men and women. The question of participation and rights of women has to be considered in the autonomous education system. But it is a deep question, and not something that will change overnight. For example, in many of the autonomous schools, the majority of the students continue to be male.

“Concerning the way to educate young girls, what we are doing now is to give the same classes to boys and girls. If we give different classes, of course they will not learn the same. We are trying now to be equal in everything. We have thought a lot about this question; it is something that is necessary and something that we have discussed at length. We will continue to discuss this issue, where we consider it necessary to include our culture. We are advancing step by step still, though we are just beginning. We know that we make many errors, and that not everything works out. We are learning as we go along, and it is also necessary to correct errors as we go along. The boys and girls are studying the same courses, and we also wish for them to learn the things that are part of our own culture; making tortillas and pozol, harvesting corn, sowing corn, because we want to include agriculture as part of education.” (Regional Education Commission)

 “In the community assembly we speak of why it is important to send girls to school, because women also have the right to learn. If they are given an official community responsibility some day, they will not be able to say that they will not do it. Because that is what is happening now with women, that they do not want to participate with the official responsibilities of the community, because they have not been able to study.” (Edgar, education promoter)

Of the approximately 30 education promoters, two are women. They speak of the importance of their participation as women within autonomous education:

“We are happy to be women working within the autonomous education system, and I know that I am working to support my people, and also as an example for other women, so that they know that men are not the only ones that can do it, or that men are more intelligent to do some jobs. They need to know that women are also able. It is important that women participate because we have the right to participate in all jobs. Children that are growing up now realize that we all have rights, not only the men. For the women, it is not so difficult to participate because we are accustomed to working hard to get ahead.” (Eva, education promoter)

“Before, the government said that women did not have the right to participate in certain jobs. We want to work together with men and women compañeros because we all have the right to work – it is not only the men that have rights. The government says that women do not have the right to work, but it is not correct, we all have the right.” (Irma, education promoter)

THE WORK OF THE EDUCATION COMMISSION

The structure of autonomous education includes promoters in each community, an education committee that promotes education in each community and a Regional Education Commission that coordinates the work of education in the entire region. The role of the Education Commission is what defines it and gives its regional structure.

“Because autonomous education is functioning throughout the entire autonomous municipality, this responsibility that I have in the Education Commission is a regional one, not just a local one; and to do it well, one has to consider many things to aptly coordinate the work of an entire region. There are many communities in the region and one needs to think on how to solve a variety of problems. When problems arise in other communities, they are brought to the attention of the Education Commission. What we have learned, we have learned from ourselves and from our experience within the organization (EZLN).

“My work is to care for and to assist other communities when they have problems. The education promoter has his or her education committee within the community. When a severe problem arises, they come to us, to the regional education commission. Much of our work is to correct, and to explain what autonomous education is, what autonomy is. Some compañeros do not know, or do not understand yet. Sometimes we have to explain to everybody, to the promoter, to the entire community. Sometimes we have to look for a solution with other authorities when we have a doubt because the solution is not only for me – it must be a solution for all our brothers.”

“Another part of my job is to explain to those responsible in the assembly, that we must name promoters in the communities, although there may be problems or difficulties. Because if we do not, the children will not be educated. I see that new promoters are constantly arriving to the training sessions. During these months, there are 26 promoters but more are arriving. We also have coordinators within the promoters who coordinate their work in groups.”

“We have to continue the resistance, and the other compañeros of the region see that if one is completing their own work, they are more likely to want to comply themselves. I am the authority, but that does not mean that I order my compañeros.

We are looking for well being for everybody, not just personal gain.  We are learning little by little, as we go along. If I don’t do my job well, another can end up in my place, or if I get tired and want to leave, I have the obligation of teaching others who will enter. I give them an explanation of the principles of the work. That is why we organize – we organize to resolve problems together and it gives us an orientation on how to work.” (Regional Education Commission)

ECONOMIC RESOURCES

“We do not have the economic resources to move along.” (Edgar, education promoter).

To be in the Zapatista resistance implies not receiving the official education nor the economic resources of the State. There are plans to seek income from local and regional economy to support autonomous education, but up until now autonomous education has depended on the support of national and international civil society to maintain schools.

“The support that we receive is from civil society. They get together notebooks and pencils and they send things to an education cooperative in Mexico City. Various people formed this small organization. They also support us with training courses but always respecting our word. If we have the necessity to learn something from them, well, we learn. But we are the ones who define the path of our work.” (Regional Education Commission)

“There are two books that the region has made, one a math book, the other a Spanish text. They are from the same region, made together with those in charge of education. Some parts are written in Tzeltal. These books are given out through the promoters of the courses. They find out how many children there are, to know how many books to distribute. But the levels are very basic. They are good only for children who are beginning. Some children already know multiplication and two-digit division. We need more advanced books. The materials that we have are these books, and donations from civil society. Other books have been sent in the caravans. We need chalk, notebooks, and pencils. When civil society sends materials, we can request them from the Education Commission, who takes charge of stocking the donations. When a promoter asks for something, if the item exists in stock, he or she gets it – if not, too bad.” (Edgar, education promoter).

Not receiving economic support from the government also implies not having salaries for the community teachers. Furthermore, the decision to have them work without a salary is part of the system of public responsibilities: all responsibilities are considered of benefit to the entire community and are not remunerated. In this case, practicing autonomy implies seeking a form of support, for a way to maintain the education promoter for his or her daily work with the children.

“Each community has its agreement because we know that the education promoters cannot continue to work if we do not help them. We help in their field, we sow for them, we clean the brush in the field, we harvest when the corn and beans are ready and we take them to his or her home.  In this way the education promoter can eat, because in autonomous education there is no salary. (Regional Education Commission)

This agreement has worked better in some communities than in others. In some communities the agreement is respected and the community gives corn and beans, or works the field of the educator: “What autonomous education gives is different from the government, because the teachers earn and the promoters of the autonomous system, according to the agreement of the individual community, receive support, a little bit of corn and beans each year. But I’ll tell you, it is a little difficult because we need more support.” (education promoter)

“The work that I am doing as a promoter is advancing, going well. I am teaching children at the same time that I support my community. They support me and my work with 10 zontes of corn.” (Antonio, education promoter)

In other communities, this agreement is not followed. Autonomy implies breaking with all historical relations of paternalism and dependence, but sometimes it is very difficult to the same autonomous communities to accustom themselves to the idea of having to support the educator, when before the government always paid the teacher’s salary. “There are also problems because government teachers earn a salary, and here there is no money.” (Regional Education Commission) But it is very difficult for the promoters that do not have community support to continue working as educators without becoming disheartened.

An education promoter speaks of his frustration: “The community is not supporting me. The agreement is that they support my work, but they always forget. If I do not do it, nobody else will and how will I eat? I am just making the effort to support the resistance. One week I asked the community for a break because my field was overgrown. I miss whole days when I am giving classes. I will continue – but how will I eat? I continue for the children, because if not they will be like their parents, some who do not even know how to read or write. The older children tell me that they want to help me, but I tell them “no.” I will go as far as I can. There have been many community assemblies and the Education Commission says that education is important, but sometimes the community does not listen.” (Edgar, education promoter)

ONE DAY IN AN AUTONOMOUS SCHOOL

An education promoter explains how the daily work is in his community: “I teach mathematics, Spanish and natural sciences classes. In the Spanish class I teach reading and writing. Although they are learning Spanish, I explain to them in Tzeltal.”

“I always make a lesson plan. The hours are from 8 to 10:30am, a break to have some pozol, and 11 to 1:30pm. In the morning I teach math and from 11 to 1:30pm I teach Spanish. When there is time left over I teach natural sciences. I see that natural sciences are not as important because the children already know because they work with their parents, about animals, which animals live in what way.”

“I make a lesson plan every day because I don’t know which children will come. Each day different children from levels come, sometimes the smaller ones come, sometimes the older students. I am alone and have to teach all levels. There are three levels, and I divide them in first, second and third rows. Some already know a lot about math, and others do not even recognize numbers.”

“There are 80 students in total. On any given day more or less 40 students show up. Each day different students arrive. If the older ones do not come, it is usually because of their work, because their parents need them. More boys than girls come. Only about 5 to 10 girls come regularly. Maybe because they are more shy, or because they help their mothers.” (Edgar, education promoter)

ACHIEVEMENTS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION

The process of establishing an autonomous education system is known to be a long road, as is the construction of autonomy in general. But there have been many achievements: the rejection of an education system that does not respect the indigenous culture or its children, the definition of education as the elemental axis within the struggle for autonomy, and the formation of important and concrete steps toward the creation of an alternative education system. “What we have achieved is one more step of this struggle, this organization, to begin to educate ourselves as we want. There are now many promoters and they are learning about autonomous education and why we need it in the communities. We are already achieving this, although it is little by little. There are fewer doubts. Through explanation, consciences are awakening – that is what we are achieving.”

“As for me, I see that it is very important to get this education into gear. I hope that the government does not destroy it. I don’t know much, but the little I know I intend to explain to my compañeros, about autonomy, and autonomous education. They are not paying me, I miss days because I want this work of education to move forward, I want to be able to correct problems before they become too serious. Everything we have achieved is one more step for us in the organization.”

“We look for the way that is best for the community, taking into account our culture. There can always be errors in our work. We need to learn from our errors, if we fall we get back up and look for other mechanisms to improve our work.” (Regional Education Commission)

Some education promoters speak of the advances in their communities and the importance of education: “In my town everything is going along well. Some children already know how to read, and they understand that it is because of their education. This is really different from the way the government teaches, because before they didn’t know that education was important – but now we are advancing more or less through the help of the compañeros that are participating in this Zapatista community in rebellion.” (Crescencio, education promoter)

“I have explained to the children what education does for them and when they know that, they will help others, they will participate with a community responsibility, they will be able to do any kind of work and will not be afraid. The children already know that what they learn in school will be good for them. It is like another weapon against the enemy because they can trick us if we don’t know how to read, if we don’t know anything, if we do not understand reality. Now it is not so easy to trick us, we now know the rights we have as indigenous people.” (Edgar, education promoter)

“Education is very important because everything comes from education.” (Yonix, education promoter)

This is the experience of one autonomous municipality. In this context, the civil organization “Las Abejas” in the municipality of Chenalhó, announced the creation of the Tzotzil Autonomous Primary School that will be located in the communities of Acteal, X’oyep and Yibeljoj. This autonomous education will focus attention on 400 indigenous children that missed out on their studies after the massacre in Acteal in December of 1997. In this new school, 20 education promoters will impart studies in Tzotzil and Spanish on corn, mother earth and the family. Meanwhile, more displaced people in the “Las Abejas” communities will return before the elections of 7 October in Chiapas, to elect municipal presidents and 40 deputies of the local congresses.

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